Besides,  Carl said, peering up at the bottom of the cupboard,  lately you ve been evincing a certain talent for finding things.

 Well,Ponch has,  Kit said.

 I m not sure he d be producing these results without you as part of the team,  Carl said, as he appliedduct tape liberally to the cupboard s underside.  Let s not get overly tangled up in details at the moment.

 From a man in your position, that has a hollow ring,  Tom said.

 Sure, go ahead, mock me in my torment.

 Anyway, are you willing   Tom said. To go over there during the next couple of days  See what the kid s doing, physically, talk to him if you can, try to get a sense of what his state of mind is.

 Sure,  Kit said.  Am I allowed to tell him I m a wizard, if he asks 

 I ll leave that up to you,  Tom said.  Normally I would suggest that you try to avoid it if possible. You don t want to take the chance of altering his perception of his Ordeal, maybe even making him think you re supposed to be involved in it somehow. But if you can come by any sense of why his Ordeal s taking him so long, I d be glad to hear it.

Carl straightened up.  Okay,  he said. The strip lights under the cupboards were now actually on. He looked at the light they cast on the counter with some satisfaction.  At least now I m going to be able to see what I m cooking without getting blinded.  He went over to the wall, turned the dimmer switch.

Clunk!

 I could stop by the supermarket on the way home and get you some candles,  Kit said as he got up.  Fire still works.

 Very funny,  Carl said.  I hope that someday, when duct tape is sticking toyour gray hairs